The Most Creative Circuit I’ve Ever Done

I abhor writing my own programs–so I farm them out to people I respect. Over the past few years I’ve completed programs written by Mike Ranfone, Charlie Weingroff and Chris “I may be married, but I’m still not cool” Merritt. Charlie and Chris conditioned me–Mike was the catalyst that helped me pull my sword from the stone; a supra-600 pound deadlift.

Apart from my disdain for deriving an objective program for my subjective self-consideration, training with other coach’s programming teaches me. Reading is a must, as is attending seminars and courses; but there’s nothing more concrete, more knowledge-embedding than applying someone’s thought process directly to yourself. It’s the most powerful educational tool I’ve found.

[Quick Aside: Blindly following the program won’t teach you much. Lots of questions and lots of attention, folks.]

My current tutelage is dealt to me by Sergio Merino–a fellow RTS coach. He’s five feet, four inches of Peruvian perspicacity–at least in the athletic development realm. I charged him with helping me return to that athleticism of my early twenties whilst maintaining the energy systems conditioning I’ve recently developed. I asked that he use Triphasic Training concepts to construct my program because I wanted to learn more about them.

I’m eccentrically squatting with eight-five percent of my max; I’m bounding like a jack-rabbit with a firecracker in its ass; I’m running shuttles like NASA.

Most interesting to me, however, is the Day 1 upper-body circuit he constructed; it’s creative, provocative and explosive. And every bit of it makes sense.

The rugby shorts are for you. You think I like spotlighting those milky man thighs? They’re a blessing, and a curse, that I’m burdened with.

Video Breakdown:

Oscillating Bench: Trains reactive ability. He chose this because football has mashed my labrums into mortar–the oscillations train reactivity without the stress of increasingly ballistic work.

Rotary Medball Chest Pass: Trains power with a touch of athleticism. Because the throw is loaded with rotation, it maintains a nuanced employment of the stretch-shorten cycle. Rotation also addresses my desire for athletic movement.